I had another go recently, following the instructions in Jenny Dean's book very carefully. She suggested pouring boiling water on the roots a couple of times and straining the liquor off after a couple of minutes, to remove any orange and brown pigment. Then using the madder in the usual way, but correcting the bath to make it alkaline. I did this and obtained the following results. First, the set of 'clear reds'. Definitely brighter, but still tending to orange. The extra skein at the end is un-mordanted!
The strainings gave me a slightly paler, more orange set. So I've still to crack the problem of obtaining a good, clear red.
Have you tried wildcolours.co.uk...she has instructions and I got my first red from that recipe.. Your dyeing projects are great!
ReplyDeleteHi Ginny, Thanks for the tip. The recipe for hot dying does not look all that different from the one I've used, but I'll try the suggestion for cold dyeing a batch,soon, to see if that makes a difference.
ReplyDeleteMadder gives better reds on cotton. However I've found the end colour depends upon the madder used, and the soil it's grown in. The only madder that ever gives me a red is fibre-crafts/ George wiel best stoneground Turkish. I find this rather galling as I've taken a great dislike to the company since the change of ownership, not least because every single packet in the last order I had from them was under wieght and they didn't care.
ReplyDeleteHi, Thanks for this information. I don't feel so bad about my rusty reds if true red is hard to achieve. Turkish madder would not fit my bill of being grown locally, so I think I'll have to resist its charms!
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